Body Armor Works
by Shakespeare's Lemonade
Summary: The Five-0 team needs each other more than ever. Steve is dealing with his mom while trying to find a way to keep Danny and Grace in Hawaii. Meanwhile, Chin gets help from an unexpected source to save Kono while Malia is still in the hospital-Post 2x23.
1. Prologue

Body Armor Works

Shakespeare's Lemonade

Rating: T

Genre: Family/Drama/Mystery/Adventure

Summary: The Five-0 team needs each other more than ever now. Steve is dealing with his mom and subsequent complications while trying to find a way to keep Danny and Grace in Hawaii. Meanwhile, Chin gets help from an unexpected source to save Kono, while Malia is still in the hospital.

Pairings: Kono/Adam, Chin/Malia, Steve/Catherine

A/N: This is set directly after the finale. I think I may end up doing this every year. Let's call it my "summer finale-based fic." That means I have to finish it before season three starts. That's four months. Can I do it? We'll see.

**Prologue**

_Two days ago: Honolulu_

Chin kept pressing his foot down harder, forgetting the gas pedal didn't go any further. He was trying to think and drive and have a mental breakdown all at the same time. He had to backtrack. He had to focus. As he turned a corner, much too fast and still much too far from his home, Chin grabbed his phone. He couldn't call the team or HPD, but he had other friends. Or Kono did.

It had taken a lot of convincing to get Kono to give him Adam's number, but Chin was glad now that he had insisted. Adam answered on the first ring.

"Where is she?"

Chin could hear the concern in Adam's voice, and realized how much he cared about Kono. "On a boat." Chin felt his voice shaking, but he couldn't stop it. He told Adam where Kono was, not wasting time on unnecessary details. Kono didn't have that much time.

"I'll find her," Adam promised.

Chin knew he would.

The rest of the drive to his house passed faster than he thought it should until he pulled into his driveway and had to slam on the breaks to avoid driving right through the garage. Malia was on the floor bleeding. Chin didn't remember much after that until he found himself waiting in the hospital trying to call Steve or Danny or anyone, and getting no answers.

_One hour later: Two miles off the coast_

Kono's skin burned as the duct tape was ripped away from her wrists. She shivered in the cold sea air, but she was happy to be alive. She looked up to thank her rescuer, expecting Chin, but the man beside her on the deck of the jet boat was not her cousin.

"Adam?" Her throat caught on his name, and she had to cough again.

"You're safe, Kono," he whispered, pulling her into a wet hug. Then he shouted something to the driver that she didn't catch. She was too busy clutching his shirt and praying that Chin and Malia were okay.

Meanwhile, the boat began speeding off, and Kono was too disoriented to know in what direction. Adam helped her to her feet and took her below deck. He laid her down on a bed or a couch; she wasn't sure.

"Sleep," he whispered, brushing matted wet hair back from her forehead. "I've taken care of everything.

_Yesterday: Honolulu_

Danny got back in the car after taking Grace home. He finally saw the message from Steve on his phone and felt like a jerk for blowing him off, especially after chewing him out for leaving a note about going to Japan. Still, Danny didn't expect this voicemail message to be about the same thing.

Danny's jaw slackened steadily as he listened to what Steve had to say: "Sorry for leaving a message like this, but you didn't answer your phone, and I have to go out of town for a couple of days. I won't be gone long. Joe... Joe is taking me to Shelburne. I guess now that Wo Fat's in prison it's safe for him to come out of hiding. I'll let you know how it goes... See you soon, Danno."

Danny dropped the phone in the passenger seat and rubbed his hands over his eyes. He wished he had taken the call now. He would have tried to convince Steve to let him come, and Steve would have said no. He still wished he had taken the call.

There was another missed call from Chin. Danny frowned when he saw that it came in the middle of the night. He had really been distracted with Grace and the custody issues.

As soon as he heard that Malia was in the hospital, Danny pulled out onto the road, lights, siren, and all. He couldn't help Steve now, but he could at least be there for Chin for what it was worth.

_Same time: Molokai_

Kono opened her eyes, to see pale light streaming through dirty windows. There was a musty smell around her, and the bed was sagging under her and smelled faintly of smoke and urine. Her head and chest hurt, and she remembered her near drowning incident.

Kono rolled over onto her back and saw two men by the door in her peripheral vision. They looked like they were guarding something. There was another door on the other side of the room, probably a bathroom. One of the men pulled out his phone to send a message to someone.

Kono sat up, and her head hurt worse. She pushed her messy hair out of her eyes. Her clothes were still damp. She took a moment to look around the room again. Nothing really caught her eye until she saw her gun and badge on the nightstand. Someone had to have gotten them back from the guy who took her.

Then Kono remembered Adam finding her, and she wouldn't put it past him to go after a guy like that. But what she really wanted at this point was her phone. She needed to call Chin and let him know she was okay. She needed to know if Malia was all right.

As she was thinking these things, the door opened, and the two guards stood aside as Adam walked into the room. Kono tried to stand up but became dizzy and had to sit down again. Adam rushed to her side, dropping a black duffel bag on the floor. He wrapped his arms around her and spoke quietly, perhaps to keep the guards from hearing as they left the two of them alone.

"Slow down." He rubbed her back. "You nearly drowned."

"I know." Kono's throat hurt from coughing up salt water. "Malia?"

"I just got news that she's stable."

"I need to go."

"Kono, someone tried to kill you." Adam looked her in the eye. "I brought you here so they would believe they had succeeded. I let Chin know you're okay, but you should stay here until I can make sure Delano won't hurt you."

"Adam, I'm not hiding while my family needs me."

"There's nothing you can do about Maila. Danny is with Chin. They'll be fine. As long as Delano believes he's had his revenge, you'll all be safe."

Kono folded her hands together and rested her forearms on her knees. "What did you do?" She turned her head to look at Adam. "To the hit man?"

Adam's jaw tightened. "I took care of him."

"Adam—"

"What? I should just let everyone I love die?"

"This isn't how we do it."

"Not how you do it. I don't have to follow your rules."

Kono rubbed her forehead, willing the pounding headache to go away. She thought back on everything Adam had said. It made sense for her to lie low for a while. He obviously just wanted her to be safe. Then she thought about his reasoning for killing the hit man.

"You love me?" She looked him in the eye again.

Adam pulled her closer and kissed her head. "You should know I love you by now."

Kono nodded against his chest. "I know." She closed he eyes hard, trying not to cry, not understanding why she felt this way.

They stayed like that for a while. Kono didn't like the idea of staying wherever she was. Maybe it would only be a few days. She would certainly put up a fight if Adam wanted to make her stay longer. Still, the fact that he had gone to so much trouble to save her and protect her showed her that he really loved her.

"I love you too," Kono whispered.

_Today: Japan_

Her long dark hair had accumulated gray strands throughout, and she kept it pulled back from her face. The lines in her forehead had deepened over the years, perhaps more due to the things she had been through than her age. Her blue eyes were as vivid and deep as they had always been. She had scars though. Scars he couldn't remember from twenty years ago. She wasn't the same person any more, though she was very much alive.

Somehow he managed to say her name. Not her name, but the name he had always called her: "Mom."

She didn't say anything, no excuses or explanations. She reached out her hand, more bony and calloused than he remembered. Her strong fingers wrapped around his arm. She was shaking. She blinked rapidly, but it didn't prevent the tears from falling down her cheeks. Steve had never seen his mother cry.

Her voice came as a whisper. "I missed you."

Then he pulled her into his arms. All the answers he needed could wait now that he had her back. Steve never knew until this moment just how badly he had missed her, how much he wanted her back in spite of reality. Or what he thought was reality.

Her arms were stronger than he remembered, but she seemed somehow smaller, diminished, as if life had taken too much from her. She held onto Steve so long that he thought she might be afraid of him disappearing.

Surprisingly, he didn't feel the least bit worried about losing her again. Maybe he should have, but for the moment—and Steve realized probably the first time in his life—he was overjoyed. He had his mother back, and the twenty years of pain and regret for all the things he never said were gone.

Steve pulled back, forcing his mother's arms to release him. He looked into her eyes again to be sure. "I missed you so much." He ran the backs of his fingers along the side of her face. "I love you, Mom."


	2. Welcome Back

**A/N: First off, I am so sorry for slacking off lately! Secondly, wow. Just wow. Twenty-one reviews on ONE chapter? Thank you guys so much. I hope you all continue to read and review this story. I will be sure to update more often than I have.**

**And on a more story-related note, I have heard that Steve's mom will be named Doris. Since I happen to think that "Doris McGarrett" sounds really, really weird, I will be calling her something else. It's not like the show will actually turn out like this anyway.**

**Chapter One "Welcome Back"**

Danny sunk into the thinly padded waiting room chair and checked his phone for the fifty-sixth time, hoping to have a message from Steve. He had tried to call ever since he found out Malia was in surgery, while Kono was in some undisclosed location being guarded by an army of Yakuza. And that was a good thing.

Danny shook his head and put his phone away again. Chin hadn't said much since Danny had arrived the previous morning. Danny was used to his silence, but it didn't mean he had to like it. If Steve had been there, he would have said something. Not that Steve was much of a conversationalist, but words seemed to flow when the two of them were in the same room.

Of course, Steve would probably want to talk about Danny's custody issues, which was not a topic Danny relished at all. He had rather focus on Chin and Kono's troubles or even the semi-irritating Shelburne. By now, Steve would know who it was and why Joe had been hiding him. Part of Danny was curious, while another part of him wanted to forget Shelburne ever existed.

Kono hadn't called either, but somehow, Danny was less worried about her. She was with Adam Noshimuri, and whatever any of them had against him, he clearly cared about Kono and wouldn't let anything happen to her. Danny had already heard about the dead hit man on the boat. Hopefully, Delano wouldn't last long at this rate.

The more Danny thought about it, the more benefits he could see to Kono dating the head of the Yakuza. Not that he condoned all the illegal activities with which they were associated, but it was nice to know that in a place where most criminals really wanted Five-0 out of the picture, there was a large faction that had their backs. All because of Kono.

Danny should have been more concerned than he was about all this. But there was so much going on right now, that he decided just to be happy that Kono was okay and Steve had called him before he left. The more stressful things on Danny's mind were the impending departure of the Edwards family to Las Vegas of all the horrible places in the world, and the fact that Malia might not make it out of this alive.

**H-5-O**

Ginny felt cold. It was a humid evening. She was still sweating though the sun had gone down long ago. She was cold, even though she was still wrapped in her son's strong embrace. It had been growing more and more the last two years. She was cold on the inside. Dead or dying. She wasn't sure. But she knew she wanted it to stop.

He didn't ask her any questions like she thought he would. Ginny didn't think that meant Steve had lost his inquisitive nature. He was waiting for some other reason. Perhaps shock or confusion. Maybe he was just happy to see her. She could hope that was the reason.

It almost annoyed her. After keeping so much from him, keeping herself from him, she was so ready to tell him everything. Everything she could anyway. After all this time, she was done running and hiding. Steve was letting her off easy.

He hadn't moved from this posture since he told her he loved her. She knew he didn't want to let go. She didn't either. But there was too much she needed to say. It was why she had asked Joe to bring Steve in the first place.

"Steve?" she whispered.

He didn't say anything, but he loosened his grip on her, so he could see her face.

"Come with me." Ginny reached for his hand.

"Where?" Steve followed her out the door. He didn't sound all that curious.

"This is where I hide. I don't want to talk here."

He seemed to accept that as a reasonable answer and remained silent. Ginny remembered that Steve had always been the quiet one. He was like her that way. But he had his father's relentless drive to know everything. It would be coming out soon enough.

Ginny led Steve into the forest near the village and up a small path, almost obscured by the underbrush. They kept up a quick pace for about ten minutes before they arrived at a small clearing. They had climbed above the village, and they were overlooking the water. The moon reflected of the rippling surface. By the edge of the cliff, there was a pile of small boulders that looked as if they had been placed there on purpose.

"You come here often?" Steve asked. His voice sounded deeper outside.

Ginny nodded. "Gets crowded in there." She couldn't think of anything better to say.

"I can imagine. Hiding all this time must have been... difficult."

"Try pure hell." She shook her head. "I didn't want to complain."

"You never did. No matter how many late nights Dad worked or how many curfews Mary broke."

"Or how many broken bones you managed to get." Ginny smirked.

"Well, that hasn't changed all that much."

She shuffled her feet in the tall grass. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Let's see, it was my arm a year ago, my ribs a couple of months ago, and yesterday, I took six bullets to the back of my flack vest."

Ginny tried not to look horrified. She had seen worse things, but she was still his mother. The thought of him in pain made her want to kill someone. Now that she thought of it though, that had been the last twenty years. It still made her want to kill someone. Preferably the son of a bitch who caused all this trouble, but he was in prison, so that wasn't an option right now. It was better than him being free, but not ideal.

"Mom?"

Ginny realized she had been staring off at the ocean for a long time. Steve was standing beside her, looking concerned. "Why did you tell me that?" she asked.

Steve shrugged. "You seemed very interested in that the last time I saw you."

Ginny looked down and crossed her arms. "I needed to know you would be okay."

"Yeah, well..."

"You weren't; I know. If I could go back—"

"Don't go there. You can't go back. You don't get to unmake that choice, but you asked Joe to bring me here for a reason."

There it was. Steve didn't beat around the bush. He didn't make small talk. He got right to the point. Ginny had loved that about Jack.

"After I heard that you arrested Wo Fat, I knew I had to talk to you, so I told Joe it was time." She sighed. "It was time long ago, but there were too many things in the way."

"Things."

"I couldn't risk you or Mary getting hurt because of me. That's the one thing I really never could forgive. I wish there had been another way, somewhere we all could have gone together. Our lives would have ended up much differently, but then... maybe Jack would still be here."

Steve shook his head. "You didn't know that was going to happen."

"I should have seen it coming. Hiro warned me that Wo Fat was getting closer, and with Joe on some top secret mission, I was the only one who could have stopped it."

"You can't blame yourself."

"Yes I can!" Ginny turned to face Steve. "This all happened because of me. Because of my actions. I knew what I was doing. I knew it would come back to haunt me, and it has for the last twenty years. It's destroyed my family."

"We're not dead yet. And Dad knew what he was doing. He left me clues to everything. He wanted me to find out."

Ginny nodded. "Yes, he never did quite go along with the complete secrecy idea."

Steve's eyebrows raised. "He didn't?"

"No. He wanted you and Mary to know, but Joe and Hiro thought it was a bad idea, and I couldn't put you in more danger than I already had. I'm not saying it was right, but that's why I didn't tell you."

"That's why you left. To protect us."

"No." Ginny stared out at the water again. "I left because I would have died if I didn't."

**H-5-O**

They moved Kono early in the morning. They two guys guarding the no-star hotel room and Adam were the only people who knew where she was going. Adam promised better accommodations than the last, but he also informed her that he wouldn't be around as much for a while. The thought of spending the day alone with nothing to do at a time like this made Kono want to argue. But she didn't just yet.

The new place was a little house on Molokai. It was far away from everything, but Kono could tell it had been kept up for just such an occasion as this. She wondered absently how many places like this Hiro Noshimuri had on the islands. Or even all over the world.

It made her have to think about how much power Adam had now. She had already seen what he almost did with all that power before. She just hoped that he knew he didn't have to fall back on his criminal legacy to get things done. But he had already killed the man with the toothpick.

Kono explored the house. Her bare feet slapped on the wood floors, and a light breeze came through the open windows, blowing the sheer, white curtains back and forth. The place was decorated sparingly with sleek, modern furniture and a few paintings on the biscuit colored walls.

The guards were outside, probably keeping watch on the perimeter of the large property. Kono didn't miss the security system that Adam activated when he left. She wouldn't know where to start to turn it off, so she suspected it was partially there to keep her in. That was fair; she was impulsive enough to run off and trust that Adam would forgive her. But she had promised to stay for a couple of days at least. After that, all bets were off.

Kono sat down on one of the expensive couches in the front room and flipped on the TV. The cable package was impressive, but she couldn't seem to settle on anything. She really just wanted to call Chin and Danny, but her phone had been smashed by toothpick man, and Adam hadn't provided her with a replacement. She got up and looked around for a landline, but there wasn't one. Nor was there a computer.

The lack of contact with the outside world suddenly made Kono feel very claustrophobic. She looked around the living room, and her gaze settled on a large bookcase across from her. She went over to it and began fingering through the books. Most of them were in Japanese or she had never heard of them until she got to the bottom shelf where she found a bunch of children's books. She took out a stack of Dr. Seuss and sat down on the floor to begin flipping through them. Before she knew it, she was reading out loud to fill the silence.

**H-5-O**

It was late morning when Danny's phone rang. He almost fell out of his chair, and Chin gave him a half scared, half amused look. When he saw that it was Steve calling, Danny forgot about everything else.

"Where the hell are you?" He got up and started pacing without realizing it.

"Didn't I tell you?" Steve's voice sounded honestly confused.

"Out of town. Shelburne. That's all remember. Why haven't you been answering your phone?"

"It's a long story."

"Long story. Well, I have one or two of those for you, so again, where are you?"

"Japan. I probably won't be home for... a while."

"A while. What's going on now? I thought you said Joe was taking you to Shelburne."

"He did. It's just... complicated. As long as Wo Fat is still alive, she can't exactly come home."

"She? Home? What—"

"It's my mother, Danny." Steve sighed. "My mom is Shelburne."


	3. Maneuvers

**Sorry I've been slacking off on my Five-0 stories. I really appreciate the interest and all the reviews on this story. This chapter is a little shorter and probably not as good as my other stuff, but I wanted to get something out there.  
**

**Chapter Two "Maneuvers" **

Steve wasn't sure if Danny were breathing or not. He couldn't hear a thing from the other end of the line. Maybe Danny had hung up. Steve waited. Finally, he could hear breathing again. It was a start.

"Can you, uh, can you repeat that please?"

Steve had already said it twice. "My mom is alive. She's been hiding all this time because Wo Fat wants to kill her."

"Why do you sound okay with this?"

"What?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that everyone lied to you for twenty years is just fine with you."

"No. It's not." Steve was pacing in front of the house his mother had been living in. He had to resist shouting as he slumped against the wall, suddenly feeling the bruises from the shooter in the pet hospital.

"I'm sorry." Danny's voice had changed from its usual annoyed indignation to something more serious. "I didn't mean to say that. It's none of my business."

"Danny, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I mean, nothing I can't take care of without you, so... yeah, do whatever it is you do when reunited with a long lost relative."

"Is it about Grace?"

"What? No. Well, yeah, but that's on hold for a while. Just—I don't know, have fun?"

"Danny, what aren't you telling me? Is everyone okay?"

"Sure. We're fine. Or will be. Hopefully. Listen, when you work things out with your mom, then we'll talk, okay?"

"I don't wanna do this." Steve hated that he was about to dump all his problems on Danny, but he couldn't help it. He needed to talk to the one solid person in his life before it was too late and Danny moved off to Las Vegas because Steve knew he would.

"Do what?"

"I don't want to be here, Danny. I was done with this whole thing. I'd resigned myself that Joe was never going to tell me the truth, and I let it go because I wanted to be home. I wanted to get on with my life, you know?"

"Yeah." Steve could almost hear Danny nodding, the way he dipped his head to the side. "But it's your mom, Steve. What did she say?"

"About why she left? That she would have died if she didn't. She said that Dad actually wanted us to know about it, but Joe and Hiro out voted him or something."

"Hiro Noshimuri was involved?"

"He had to be. As soon as I figured out that Wo Fat had killed him, I knew he and Joe had been working together long before the faked his death. And now that I think about it, he died protecting my mother. She hasn't explained that just yet."

"Or why Wo Fat wants to kill her. Are you even supposed to tell me all this?"

"I don't know. I did."

"Okay. So, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. It's been twenty years since I've seen her. That's a lot to catch up on, but I can't just leave all of you. And I don't want to."

"Don't worry about us." Danny didn't sound very convincing. "Just do what you have to, and we'll be waiting for you when you come home."

Steve could only pray he was right.

**H-5-O**

Chin had overheard Danny's conversation with Steve, and even though he was preoccupied with worrying about his wife, he couldn't help but catch the main point. Shelburne was Steve's mother. Chin shook his head. He thought he had known Virginia McGarrett so well. He remembered how she often reminded him of a younger version of his own mother. To think that she had been alive all this time was too much to take in.

Chin took in a deep breath and realized that he was well on his way to an emotional overload. He wasn't sure whether talking about it would help any, but the words spilled out before he could stop them.  
"Ginny is alive."

Danny stared at him from across the room. "Ginny?"

Chin nodded. "I should have seen that coming after all the trouble Joe went to and all the secrets John kept from everyone. I could tell every time I saw him that there was something he wanted to get out but just couldn't. I can't believe they kept it up for twenty years."

Danny kept staring. "I didn't even know her name."

"Steve never talked about her. John hardly did either."

"How... How is he even supposed to begin to deal with this?"

"You didn't tell him what's going on here?"

"I couldn't. He'd want to come back here and deal with Delano, and I am perfectly happy letting Adam and the Yakuza take care of that scumbag, so why not let Steve have some time with her, right?"

"So she's not coming home?"

"Wo Fat is still alive, so I'm thinking not."

Chin shook his head. "To think that Steve has been chasing this for so long only to have it end up like this. I wonder what she was involved in that got her into so much trouble. I have a feeling there's a lot more to her than anyone ever suspected."

"What? Like she's a spy or something?"

Chin laughed. "I wouldn't put it past that family."

"And now Steve's in it too."

Chin's eyes met Danny's. "I guess it makes sense she would want to protect him from it. Maybe in a twisted way, he was better off not knowing."

Danny shook his head. "The one time he told me about her... I could hear the pain in his voice that he tried so hard to hide. It was one of those times I wished I could turn back time and make everything okay for him. Send him back to his childhood where everything was fine."

**H-5-O**

"Who were you talking to so long?" Ginny asked as she laid some blankets on the old couch in the main room of the shack of a house.

"No one." Steve didn't want to bring her into that part of his life just yet. Not if she planned on skipping out of it again.

Ginny gave him a suspicious look but didn't ask again. "I know there's a lot we still need to talk about, but it can wait for morning. It's not very comfortable, but it's all I have." She gestured toward the couch.

"It's fine." Steve didn't say that he had slept in far worse places without complaint. She had to know what he had been doing for the last twenty years from Joe, but she seemed to want to imagine that his life had been safe and comfortable all the time. He didn't really blame her.

As he laid down and the lights went out, Steve realized that he wouldn't be falling asleep any time soon. He was so tired, worn out really, but his mind wouldn't shut off. Part of it was wondering what his mother had been up to all this time, but another part wished it would all just go away so he could go home. He thought about Mary: what would he tell her? He thought about Wo Fat locked in a prison cell. That never guaranteed anything in Steve's experience. He thought about Chin and Kono and how complicated their lives had been lately. He thought about Danny and wondered if he would make it back in time to say goodbye. He didn't want his best friend to leave, but he was so certain it would happen. Everyone left eventually, even if they came back sometimes.

Steve thought about Catherine. He avoided talking about her, thinking it would make him miss her more. She left him every time, but she always came back. He didn't harbor any illusions that she would ever stay for good. It wasn't his luck to have a real relationship.

Soon Steve realized that lying on the uncomfortable couch did no more good for his sore back than standing against the house had, so he got up and quietly went outside. The whole town was dark as he sat on the porch. Steve couldn't see three feet ahead. He didn't need to.

As he breathed in the moist night air, Steve wished again that he were back home. He felt bad; it wasn't as if he wanted to be away from his mother. Quite the opposite, but he didn't think she would come with him.

Steve heard the door to the shack open and close behind him. He wasn't surprised. The glow of her flashlight bounced over the wooden porch and down the steps into the blackness before she flicked it off and sat down next to him. With the presence of his mother's body heat, Steve realized how cold he was getting.

"It was worth a try." Ginny put her hand around Steve's arm. "Sleeping."

"Not usually."

"What's bothering you?" Ginny shifted slightly. "In particular?"

Steve let out a short laugh. "I can't be here."

She nodded against his shoulder. "I understand. It works out anyway. You should call your sister."

Steve turned to face Ginny, though he couldn't see very well in the darkness. "What are you talking about?"

"Things have changed since I left. You and Mary aren't kids anymore. And it's time for me to come home."

"But Wo Fat—"

"I'll always be in danger no matter where I am. But I have a feeling that if we had stayed together, this family would have been unstoppable."

"What good does coming home do if it will only get you killed?" Steve didn't want to say that. He was supposed to be the optimist. "I'm not going to bury you again."

"You won't have to. There's a lot I haven't told you, but believe me when I sat that Wo Fat won't get near me from where he's sitting. You've managed to cripple him in a way I or your father never could have. And I will explain it all."

Steve nodded. "Eventually, right?"

"Yes. Eventually."


End file.
